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International Discussion Group:
​Promoting Educational Success, Health & Development in Low Resource Countries & Communities

This page introduces our International Discussion Group on promoting educational success, health & development in low resource Countries . The discussion group was a big part of the work on the FRESH Partnership, led by Save the Children in cooperation with Partnership for Child Development, Plan International-UK, International School Health Network, UNESCO, including the UNESCO Clearinghouse, UNODC and others. The FRESH Working Group/Discussions on low resource countries included a series of webinars and several summaries of the research, reports and resources 

A “low resource country” is one that has a less developed economy, lower average incomes, fewer natural resources and/or a more severe climate or isolating geographical conditions. This working definition is much like the UN definition of least developed countries 1 and includes low resource regions, often rural or poor urban areas, within middle resource countries 2 . This working definition is different than the term “low and middle-income countries” often used in several UN documents and research articles. LMIC countries often have large urban centres or regions that have emerging and growing incomes, thereby causing a transition to health and social risks often associated with higher disposable incomes such as highly processed foods, less physical activity, more adverse or stressful
conditions within daily life and higher consumption of tobacco or alcohol. The needs of middle or even high-income communities in LMIC’s often dominate the political and policy attention in these countries.

Low resource countries, like those in other contexts, will still need to address different local needs. The types of communities that can be found within low resource countries include; relatively affluent communities often served by private, elite or community-based schools, extremely disadvantaged communities often situated in urban slums, indigenous communities, faith-based communities, minority ethno-cultural and immigrant communities and rural/isolated communities.

This IDG has created a background/discussion paper, a draft consensus statement, several summaries on school programs substance abuse, obesity, mental health and physical activity in low  resource countries as well as recorded several webinars  See the related Wiki-Summaries on these topics. We especially thank the staff from Save the Children who donated their time in organizing the webinars. We also appreciate the funding for some of the discussions about LRC countries that came from Plan International UK. 

As with other discussion groups in this KDE program and web site, it is expected that each group will recruit other participants, present their work in webinars/web meetings, prepare a set of Glossary Terms (GT) (1-2 paragraphs) on selected topics and start a Bibliography/Toolbox (BT) of selected research and resources. If participants' time or financial resources permit, the IDG can prepare longer summaries such as Encyclopedia Entries  (EE) (1-2 pages) or Handbook Sections (HS) (10-15 pages) which eventually can be published.  

Here are some current or important highlights from this International Discussion Group. These are extracted from the background/discussion paper and the draft consensus statement developed by the FRESH Partners:

The consensus statement notes several lessons learned and insights gained from practice-based discussions in webinars. The series of webinars on low resource countries organized by FRESH Partners has led to several
practical and strategic insights about school health & nutrition programs in low resource countries. The richness of this accumulated knowledge is well worth the time in viewing the recordings and referring to the resources. These sessions are ongoing. 
  • Positive Results Emerging from Research and Reports: ​There are also many reports, research studies and trends indicating that progress has been made in promoting educational success, health and development in low resource countries. (See page 4 of the statement) 
    - The educational, health and other benefits from school health and nutrition programs in LRC’s have been well-documented and systematic reviews have confirmed the effectiveness of multi-component approaches in LRC contexts
    - A comprehensive, yet practical and realistic set of core components and indicators that LRC’s can build and maintain have been brought together in a national self-assessment tool  that has been field-tested in over 35 countries. Thematic or issue-based indicators have also been identified and used. For example, indicators on WASH in schools are now part of the SDG indictors (SDG 4 and 6) and will be integrated in the monitoring systems of the education sector in many countries 
    - Between 2000 and 2015, the presence and scope of school health and nutrition policies supporting multi-component approaches such as School Health & Nutrition grew substantially in the Education Service Plans (ESP) and surveys provided to UNESCO and the World Bank 
    - ​ The policy  and document databases maintained by UNESCO, WHO and other agencies contain many examples of school-based and school-linked multi-component approaches, strategies and policies for LRC’s. Enhanced support to curate these resources and supplement them with more examples and with the latest research reviews and studies should be considered.
The experience of practitioners and officials working in low resource countries, as well as the growing
body of research, has identified several guiding principles should underpin the implementation and
maintenance of approaches, initiatives and programs: (See page 4 of the background/discussion paper) 
  1. Country ownership and leadership: In many countries, programmes are still implemented as vertical projects, sponsored mainly by external partners. Efforts should be made to enhance country ownership and leadership of national programmes. This will require the political commitment and financial support of governments, transitional funding from donors, strengthened management and capacities within the national education and other sectors as well as community engagement and support from the private sector. Clear roles and responsibilities for each level of governance and links with other ministries/ departments should be defined so that implementation can scalable and sustainable.
  2. Broad-based national and international coordination and collaboration: Effective coordination mechanisms at the global, regional and national levels are crucial to the success of such collaboration. 
  3. Empowerment of people and communities:  LRC countries and communities should therefore be empowered, guided and involved in activities to promote their own health, education, social and economic development as well as to prevent or control specific problems. Activities, which are simple and enjoyable supported by lean management processes and user-friendly facilities help to ensure that the program is implemented at scale and can be sustained. If interventions are too complex or too costly, they will not be sustained long-term without ongoing external funding and human resources.
  4. Evidence-based and experience-tested approaches, programs and incremental, implementation/ sustainability planning:  These plans should consider cost-effectiveness, affordability, public health & community development principles and cultural considerations. Encouraging schools and other agencies to begin with small improvements that can be achieved using resources already available can start the incremental process. 
  5. Equity and gender-based interventions: Access to health services is more difficult for girls and women in low resource countries, especially in rural areas where problems are often highly often highly endemic. Approaches, programs and interventions should intentionally address or advance gender issues and other inequities.
IDG Announcements& Resources
These discussions on low resource countries were held by FRESH Partners in 2017-2020. The regular webinars organized by FRESH partners will include LRC topics and be listed on the FRESH LRC Working Group web page. Interested readers can
Here is an initial list of LRCC topics being developed on this web site:
  • access to primary and secondary schooling, especially for girls,
  • clean water, hand washing, personal hygiene, household and community hygiene, (WASH) 
  • diarrhea, cholera, malaria, 
  • soil-transmitted helminths (worms), pneumonia, trachoma, 
  • eye health/vision 
  • oral/dental health, 
  • mental & emotional health, 
  • physical activity (esp. when the community makes the transition to higher income levels),
  •  immunization and vaccinations, 
  • accidental injury, especially road safety 
  • tobacco, alcohol & drug use (esp. when the community makes the transition to higher income levels),
  • nutrition (hunger/food security, school feeding, micro-nutrients) and choosing a healthy diet when the community makes the transition to higher income levels 
  • menstruation management, 
  • sexual health, puberty, HIV/AIDS/STI, early marriage & pregnancies

Building Core Components in LRCCs
  • Focusing on key topics in curricula  & Making use of informal learning activities to support health & lifre skills education
  • Providing primary health services in low resource contexts
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